


It's Nice To Love (And Be Loved)

by gigisgoode



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: CHAPTER 1 IS A REUPLOAD- ANYTHING AFTER IS NEW, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, canon compilant, i'm so sorry i deleted it by accident, title from pawn shop blues- lana del rey, tw vomit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29205090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gigisgoode/pseuds/gigisgoode
Summary: It’s 7:23am, precisely 8 minutes since Rosé usually turns the corner to greet Denali in her checked shirt and her bed hair, and she isn’t here.
Relationships: Denali/Rosé (Drag Race)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 54





	1. 7:23am

**Author's Note:**

> So So SO Sorry i deleted this, it was a whole mess and i'm just pleased to be getting it back up! chapter 1 is what you've already read if you've seen this fic before, anything else will be brand new. pls re-leave kudos if you still like it lol

Denali’s worried.

Since their infamous moment on Untucked, she and Rosé have each morning been rising earlier than their castmates for the only private time they can get together without the cameras. They sit far too close to each other on the leather ottoman in the lobby of the hotel with their breakfast- too much coffee for Denali and builders tea and toast for  Rosé (she is from the UK after all), and they talk and laugh like an old married couple. When one of the other queens shows up (usually Tina or LaLa), they shuffle apart so Denali isn’t practically sitting on  Rosé’s lap and pretend their heartstrings don’t ache with the distance.

However, this morning, it’s 7:23am, precisely 8 minutes since  Rosé usually turns the corner to greet Denali in her checked shirt and her bed hair, and she isn’t here. Denali’s not normally a worrier, but everything changes when it comes to  Rosé. She could allow her mind to run wild, imagining completely unrealistic scenarios that  Rosé doesn’t love her anymore, that she isn’t worth the 15 minutes less sleep. But as her watch continues to get later and later and more and more of the other queens filter into the lobby, her concern really begins to get the best of her.

Even in the short time they’d known each other, Denali knew it was very unlike  Rosé to oversleep to the point of being late, that the New York drag scene was ruthless and turning up even a minute late to a gig could get you blacklisted throughout the whole state. But what if she had? What if she’d withdrawn from the competition overnight, taken the first flight back to Manhattan and not looked back? What if she couldn’t handle the pressure anymore, sat up sobbing to the early hours of the morning when exhaustion finally caught up to her?

Her mind’s running away with her and she knows it but just as Denali’s contemplating going back upstairs and breaking  Rosé’s door down, one of the crew members lightly taps her on the shoulder and pulls her aside.

‘ Rosé won’t answer her door. We’ve been knocking for 15 minutes now. We know you two are close, so we’re going to get a spare keycard for her room and if you want to come with us in case she’s not okay then you can do.’

Denali’s agreeing before the young girl’s even finished speaking, and she follows her up to the sixth floor like a puppy wanting treats and a belly rub.

When they reach  Rosé’s door, Denali doesn’t even hesitate before knocking once to announce her presence, but giving no time for response as she slides the card into the slot and waits for the green signal, before pushing the door open with purpose behind her moves. Her eyes immediately land on  Rosé’s bed, which she is not in, before Denali notices that the bed is still completely made up fresh from the maids, towel swan and all. She feels her face flush from the worry building up in her chest, her totally unrealistic imagination earlier of  Rosé having left for New York now not looking all that wild.

The room’s only tiny, and just from a quick scan with her eyes, Denali can tell that  Rosé is nowhere in there. Her heart sinks before noticing the bathroom door is closed and she quickly jogs her way over and raises her hand to the door.

‘ Rosé?’

‘ Rosé sweetheart, are you okay in there? Can I come in?’

The silence lingered for a second too long before Denali’s worry got the best of her and she body slammed herself into the door to open it.

‘Oh my god. Rosie.’

Rosé lay fast asleep on the bathroom floor, curled into herself in just her boxers. It becomes immediately clear to Denali that  Rosé is very sick. The room’s a mess; there’s wet towels and both  drag and boy clothes strewn across the floor, the bin from the bedroom’s been brought in and is now acting as a makeshift cuddly toy, wrapped up in  Rosé’s embrace, despite it being her vomit bowl just moments ago. Her face was screwed up in pain, sweat-drenched hair stuck to her forehead and Denali’s heart broke for her.

The relief Denali felt knowing that  Rosé was safe (although clearly not well) was so unalike anything she had ever felt before. All of those scary thoughts she had disappeared, and her only focus was on getting  Rosé better.

She began to kneel down next to  Rosé, a gentle hand on her back as the other migrated to her forehead, pushing her hair away before retracting her hand just moments later as the heat radiating off of her was like putting your hand in the oven.  Rosé hadn’t stirred at all since Denali had been there, so after she gave  Rosé the once over and was confident that apart from a scraped knee that she thinks will scar,  Rosé had done herself no lasting damage, Denali gently tried to pull the full bin out of her grasp to clean.

Rosé mumbled in her sleep as her hands were moved off of the bucket, and she tried to cuddle it closer to her chest. Denali briefly flushed; secretly hoping that’s what  Rosé would do to her when they finally got to share a bed for the first time, before remembering the task at hand.

‘Come on Rosie, that’s all yucky. Let me take it baby.’

‘ Rosé, baby, let me have it.’

Denali’s having no luck taking it from her until she tries to pull it just a little harder, which causes  Rosé to  _ whine, _ the most horrible pained little sounds coming from the poorly girl’s mouth as finally she begins to stir awake and Denali can take the bucket away from her.

‘Shush, shush baby it’s okay. I’m here.’ Denali hushes.

Rosé’s eyes start to flutter open and from catching just a tiny glimpse of those beautiful blue eyes Denali had started calling home, she knew  Rosé was confused and disorientated.

‘Rosie, it’s just me my love, it’s Denali. Can you hear me sweetheart?’

Rosé’s eyes opened fully for the first time that morning as she tried to find the source of the voice she was hearing, wanting nothing more than to tell it to shut up and leave her on the floor to puke her guts out alone. The light is too bright and it’s hurting her eyes and her ears are ringing and-

‘Nali?’ she whispers, like her mind’s playing tricks on her.

‘Yes my love, it’s me, I’m right here with you,’ Denali tries to soothe.

They lock eyes and  Rosé looks so utterly poorly and tired that Denali acts purely on instinct and reaches over to try and lift  Rosé up from her laying position, not knowing how long she’d been shivering like this on the cold tiled floor and wanting nothing more than to hold the sick girl.

‘So… so dizzy Nali.’  Rosé tries to stutter as Denali wraps an arm around  Rosé’s back and the other under her legs, hoisting the very sweaty girl off of the floor and trying to get her sitting up.

‘I know, I know baby. Stay with me though.’ Denali taps her fingers on Rosé’s cheek as she sees her eyes fluttering close again and  Rosé’s grip on her bicep becomes looser.  Rosé blinks back up at her, widening her eyes to force them to stay open like she’s in a staring contest until Denali gets her sitting up, positioning  Rosé in between her legs so her weight falls backwards, supported by Denali’s chest.

Rosé immediately curls into Denali, fists balled into her hoodie as Denali realises that despite the intense heat  Rosé’s radiating, she’s craving Denali’s body warmth. Her opinion is solidified as a huge chill runs through  Rosé that makes her teeth chatter and her hands shake like she’s out in the Arctic and forgot her gloves.

‘Oh, baby,’ Denali sympathises, pressing the back of her hand to  Rosé’s forehead again. ‘You are burning up my love, how long have you been like this?’

‘When we fffinished filming yesterday I started feeling sick so I tried to have a shower but as you can see,’  Rosé gestures to the towels that she’s tried so hard to clean up with, ‘I didn’t quite make it before I threw up. I puked so many times and I just remember feeling hot and dizzy and next thing I knew you were here calling my name.’

‘You must’ve passed out, baby. Probably from your fever or dehydration. Thank god you didn’t smack your head on the sink when you went down.’

‘It feels like I did’,  Rosé complains, a hand unfurling itself from Denali’s hoodie to massage her temples.

A few moments pass by. Denali’s trying to soothe  Rosé like she would one of her young students who fell over on the rink, before suddenly  Rosé straightens up in Denali’s lap, her breathing becoming somewhat erratic and her face paling to a horrible sickly green.

‘Woah, woah, it’s okay babe, you need the bucket back?’

Rosé nods grimly and Denali reaches across for it, holding it up under her chin just in time for the sick queen to bring up the remaining contents of her stomach.

She’s shaking and trying to catch her breath with tears streaming down her face and Denali just wishes she could help with more than a hug and nice words.

‘I’ve got you, I’ve got you, just let it out baby.’

/

When Rosé finally catches a break, she’s exhausted and her entire body feels like lead as she weakly tries to hint to Denali that she wants to be held closer. Unsurprisingly, Denali embraces her straight away, cradles the back of her head as she gently leads  Rosé through breathing activities, as she’s still on the verge of hyperventilation.

There’s a sharp rap at the door and  Rosé wants to scream at the intrusion but can only manage a whimper. Shit. Denali had completely forgotten about the crew member, and that they should’ve left for filming over an hour ago. She knew that  Rosé would not be able to make it through a full day of filming in this state, but she also knew the stubbornness that came with Rosé and that once she realises she’s late, she’ll be getting dressed and heading out the door faster than Denali can stand up to try and hold her steady.

‘Ladies, am I alright to come in?’

Rosé’s puppy dog eyes come out immediately and silently beg Denali to not let her in. Denali is unsurprised, after all  Rosé is sitting in Denali’s lap in just her underwear, covered in sweat after being violently unwell all night, but she knew that when  Rosé got better, she would be grateful this was the decision Denali chose to make.

‘Yes, love.’


	2. 10:12am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Denali liaises with her, speaking for the both of them, as Rosé’s blanked out, staring at the paracetamol like it’ll be the end of her and Denali doesn't want to push too far too early.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 2 mfs!! i'm so proud of this one! i know the ending seems like it's the actual end of the story, but fear not babs, chapter 3 is already in the drafts.
> 
> on a serious note, i want to dedicate this chapter to a very special person. Dandara was a huge fan of Rosé and Denali, and had a wonderfully bright, bubbly, happy energy. She passed on to the angels on Jan 31st, and whilst i didn't know her for long, i felt her presence in the drag fandom and community and she is sorely missed. For you, my love.

‘No no no no, Nali, please don’t let her in!’ Rosé mumbled, trying to push herself further into Denali to hide.

‘It’s okay, baby, come on, don’t stress. I know you feel like shit, and trust me; I wouldn’t be making you do this if I didn’t think it was the absolute right thing to do. But I know you, Rosé, and you have come too damn far for a fever and a stomach bug to ruin your chances of winning that crown. I’m gonna help you through the day, and you know that. Whatever you need, I’ve got you. There’s no challenge, no dancing, just the runway and the judging. You **can** do this my love.’

Rosé knows she’s right, and she feels ridiculous for letting the thought of staying in bed all day and not going to filming cross through her mind. She’s motherfucking Rosé. Rosé who does gig after gig after gig, takes cabs in full beat making small talk with homophobic drivers from Manhattan to Brooklyn and back home again, not one of those queens who cancels a gig when she’s got a runny nose. Denali’s monologue made her a little teary eyed, knowing she had someone here who cared about her so much, but before she could thank her, the door squeaked open and ruined their moment of intimacy. It was plain to see on the woman’s face and she looked entirely apologetic as she entered the small bathroom. Neither of the queens could remember her name, but as she knelt down next to Rosé and passed her a bottle of water and some painkillers, they’re grateful she’s here.

Denali liaises with her, speaking for the both of them, as Rosé’s blanked out, staring at the paracetamol like it’ll be the end of her and Denali doesn’t want to push too far too early.

She tells Denali that the other queens are already on set, and they have just shy of half an hour to be ready before the van will be back to pick them up. Denali hears Rosé sigh like a little kid and has to hold back a laugh, but as the woman wishes Rosé better and leaves them alone to get ready, the enormity of the task is beginning to sink in for Denali. She’s got 20 minutes to get Rosé showered, dressed and presentable enough that she won’t gag when she watches herself on the screen when the show airs, when currently the older queen’s got her entire head in the bucket and she’s clinging to Denali like she’s on the edge of a cliff.

/

‘You need to shower, my love, or at the very least we need to get your hair washed. How steady are you feeling on your feet?’

She’s stopped puking (for now) and Denali had got her standing, but Rosé’s balled up Denali’s shirt in her fists and is whining and she doesn’t have the heart to make Rosé do anything she doesn’t want to.

‘I can’t shower, Nali, I don’t even think I can stand up by myself,’ Rosé tells her, and as to demonstrate her unsteadiness, she lets go of Denali, and immediately her knees visibly buckle and Denali’s grabbing onto Rosé’s arm and guiding her to sit down on the closed toilet lid before she hits the ground.

‘Always gotta be so dramatic, huh Rosie?’ Denali laughs, trying to settle the heartbeat that’s pulsing in the back of her throat.

‘Okay, so definitely no shower, but we are washing your hair because, currently,’ Denali leans forward and plays with Rosé’s fringe, ‘it’s stuck to your forehead with sweat and a little bit of vomit and that is not a cute look for TV.’

She manages to coax a small chuckle out of Rosé and she hopes that’s remedy enough for the undoubted uncomfort she’s about to cause the sick girl, and silently prays in her head Rosé can manage to hold the vomit in until she’s not upside down with her head in the sink.

/

Rosé’s hair was washed without any major incidents, and she’s now sat on the edge of her bed as Denali ties up her shoelaces. Luckily, Denali has her trusty compact powder foundation in her jean pocket, and she brushed it under Rosé’s eyes to hide the bags under them that were a dead giveaway as to how unwell she was. Rosé fell asleep as Denali was powdering her face, and when Denali reluctantly shook her awake so they could get to the lobby in time for the van, Rosé’s eyes looked clearer and brighter and Denali could’ve cried.

‘Those pain meds kicked in yet, baby?’

Rosé tries to nod, before wincing at her actions.

‘I don’t feel so nauseous anymore but my head hurts like a little bitch.’

Denali giggles fondly at the sick girl before her eye notices the sunglasses sitting on Rosé’s bedside dresser.

‘Is the light still hurting your eyes?

‘So much. Can you turn them off, please?’

Denali does as asked and as Rosé sighs in relief, Denali puts the sunglasses into Rosé’s open hands. She was expecting a tanned, acrylic-clad hand rather than the plastic article but when Rosé realises what they are, Denali earns a kiss on the cheek and a ‘what would I do without you?’

She brings Rosé to her chest, helping her stand up off the bed before flipping her wrist to check her watch.

‘Shit, babe, we’re gonna be late! We need to get down there, now!’

Denali goes to pick Rosé up, knowing she wasn’t steady enough on her feet to get down to the lobby before the van arrived, before there’s hands shooing her away.

‘Nali, I’m not a baby. I feel better now. You don’t need to carry me.’

She goes to protest, tell Rosé to stop being so goddamn stubborn for once, before she relents.

‘Okay, baby. If you’re sure.’

Denali already knows, knows Rosé’s going to manage no more than 5 steps by herself before she’s gasping for breath and the world spins around her, but she’ll make her feel heard, trusted, even though her brain is in fever-induced delirium right now and Denali just wants to get her to set in one piece.

As predicted, Rosé wobbles like a baby fawn as she tries to walk to the door, before one foot in front of the other becomes too much and her knees give out and she’s falling. Denali’s right behind her, because of course she was, and darts in to steady Rosé with hands around her waist before she scoops her up into her arms. Rosé doesn’t protest, knows she couldn’t have made it downstairs on her own but not wanting Denali to see her as needy. It was unusual for her, to need someone else, Rosé mused as she was sitting on Denali’s hip like a toddler, arms slung around her neck. But as Denali buckled her into the van, managing to catch her dozing head from hitting the window before letting Rosé nap on her chest on the way to the studio, Rosé knew that this was going to be different. Everyone needs a little taking care of sometimes, and she’d want no-one else but Denali to be here with her right now.


End file.
